Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A Quick Meditation: Relieve Stress Now

A Quick Grounding Meditation

A hectic life can leave you feeling like an unanchored ship, tossed and jostled on a sea of stress and ragged nerves. Work, family, bills, worry – who has time to do laundry, much less find inner peace? Grounding is a quick meditation that takes less than a minute. Anywhere, anytime, it can help you de-stress and recharge your inner batteries.

Grounding reconnects you with the earth, anchors you to the present, and fills you with soothing, powerful energy. Whether you’re overworked, overwhelmed, or just overly stressed, use this meditation to consciously stop for a moment, unwind, and revitalize. There are three steps to grounding: rest, recharge, and reconnect.

Step 1: Rest. The first step is to slow down and rest. Sit or stand comfortably, with the soles of your feet touching the floor. Relax and breathe. Focus on taking deep cleansing breaths and exhaling fully. Close your eyes, if it’s comfortable to do so. Don’t need to spend too much time doing this – even a few seconds make a difference. What’s most important is that you deliberately slow down let yourself relax. Try it right now. Stop reading for a few seconds, relax, and breathe. Go ahead. Doesn’t that already feel better?

Step 2: Recharge. Now that you are more relaxed, it’s time to get rid of the bad energy and replace it with healthy earth energy. Start by focusing on the feel of the ground beneath you, solid and strong. Imagine that your feet and legs are like the roots of a tree, and they’re drawing pure, revitalizing energy upward into your body. It helps to picture this as a bright white light. Continue to breathe, imagining that energy rising up your legs, into your hips and lower back, releasing all tension along the way. Let it flow up your spine and into your chest. Open your heart to the comforting reassurance of earth’s vital force. Feel it work its way through your body, cleansing and strengthening as it moves. Let it rise into your throat, your face, and fill your head. Be still and allow your body to soak up the strength, then release it through the crown of your head. See it wash through and over you like a cleansing wave, carrying away all pain and negativity. Continuing to breathe slowly, allow the energy to ebb a little. Feel it moving downward, still washing away all of that paralyzing anxiety and fear. Allow the energy slowly seep back toward earth, taking with it everything that prevents you from living each second to its fullest. Finally, feel the last of it flow out through the soles of your feet, into the earth. Think about how the ground feels beneath you – firm, stable, dependable. Take another deep breath.

Step 3: Reconnect. Slowly come back to the present again. Open your eyes and become aware of your surroundings. Be conscious of your breathing. Be present in the here and now. You should feel relaxed, calm, and ready to face the world. Take a moment to reassess the situation that had you so stressed. Is it really as horrible as it seemed before? Probably not. You’re ready to tackle any challenge, freshly bolstered by the strengthening power of earth energy.

You can do this grounding meditation in less than a minute, but spending two or three full minutes is recommended. The important thing is that you practice this meditation regularly. If you do, you’ll soon find that you can slip into a relaxed, grounded state of mind with ease, regardless of the situation. This grounding meditation is more than just a visualization technique, it’s a practical skill you’ll carry with you forever.

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